Its riveting surges through the conference have almost become routine. Ripping up the league for a third straight year has put Drake women’s basketball in a Missouri Valley class of its own.

Still, as the No. 21 Bulldogs head to the Quad Cities looking to cement a third consecutive MVC Tournament title and Big Dance berth, the core principles that revived this program haven’t changed a bit.

“I love where we’re at as a team,” Drake coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “We’re still having a ton of fun playing. We show up every day in practice. This is a really fun team.”

The Drake bench celebrates during their basketball game on Friday, Dec. 21, 2018, in Des Moines. Iowa would go on to defeat Drake 91-82.(Photo: Brian Powers/The Register)

Although this year’s version did stumble in conference play, the Bulldogs may be in their best position for some louder March noise. Drake is a No. 7 seed in Charlie Crème’s latest bracketology. That would be the program’s first single-digit seed since 2002.

The Bulldogs should be dancing regardless of what happens in Moline, Ill. But that safety net doesn’t diminish this weekend’s intensity.

Drake has owned TaxSlayer Center of late, dousing the place in Bulldog blue for three straight days. Despite how easy the Bulldogs make it look at times, conference championships aren’t taken for granted.

“It’s the best time of the year,” redshirt junior forward Sara Rhine said. “Very exciting — and I think everyone feels really good. I think everyone is in a really good place, personally and with the team as a whole.

“The confidence is really high — and Jennie always says it — but being confident in yourself first and then others around you. I really feel that’s where we’ve been and where we’ll continue to be going forward.”

Power Five schools get a week off between the end of their conference tournament and Selection Monday. Drake doesn’t have that luxury. Opposite of the men’s side, most of the women’s mid-major leagues have their conference tournaments the third weekend of March instead of the second.

Reminders of how crazy this time can get unfold all around. Cliché as it may be, following a one-step-at-a-time approach is how to survive this wacky month.

“The beautiful thing about this team is we do a really good job of just being in the moment,” Rhine said. “We look forward to, ‘OK, first-round game, then second round, then the championship.’ We are very much looking forward to what’s in front of us right now. But obviously, the larger goal we’ve been working toward all year is to get to the NCAA Tournament and then win a game or two there.

“But we are very excited with each step. And then it’s also super cool because we’re going to soak up every moment that we have right here. We work on that all year, so it’s not like it’s something new this time of year. That’s just how our program works.”

The culture and discipline established within is why Drake keeps coming back on top. The Bulldogs yearn for a long March journey, the missing piece in this run of basketball dominance.

The focus, though, doesn’t deviate from the present.

“This is why you play,” Baranczyk said. “It’s so magical and so fun. We’re really excited.”

Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.